Love Past: Adult-Child Problems
by ShinyCDiver
Summary: Something happened. They don't know what exactly happened to put them in this situation but something happened. Something that might help the relationships between the nine members or might destroy the carefully created bonds between them.
1. Problems

Author's Note: This is my first time doing a Love Live fanfiction so I apologize in advance if I don't get the characters right.

Disclaimer: I do not own Love Live School Idol Project

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Something happened. They don't know what exactly happened to put them in this situation but something happened. Something that might help the relationships between the nine members or might destroy the carefully created bonds between them. Something…that led to all nine of them sitting in their living room at one in the morning.

"Enough of this atmosphere already! Someone say something!" Rin shouted, unable to take the silence any longer.

"What are we supposed to say though? How can any of us put this situation into words?!" Umi shouted back. Six of the Muse members were seated on a couch that surrounded a coffee table. From left to right there was Hanayo, Rin, Eri, Nozomi, Umi, and then Kotori at the end. The other three not mentioned yet were sitting on the floor, arms resting on the coffee table. Where the other six were drinking tea, these three, Honoka, Nico, and Maki, were drinking milk. The reason for this is also the reason why they were all up at this time of the night-or morning- however you want to call it. Something happened, they don't know what it was to put them in this situation, but something happened to turn three adults into little children again.

"We're going to have to cancel." Eri said. The others, including the children, turned to look at her. For some mysterious reason, the thing that turned Honoka, Nico, and Maki into children left them with all their adult memories.

"Cancel what, exactly?" Nico asked, wiping her mouth with the sleeve of her way-too-big-now night shirt.

"The European Tour." Eri replied. "We can't do it if there's only six of us. We all agreed that if we perform, we'd do it with all members present, remember?" They nodded, slowly. "Then it's settled. I'll call Honda-san later."

"But what about Honoka-chan and the others?!" Kotori asked, not noticing how Maki and Nico reacted to being the 'others'. "They can't possibly take care of themselves in this state. How are we going to deal with this?"

"I have a suggestion for that. Why don't we split into pairs and then take responsibility for one of them? Like Hanayo-chan and Rin-chan can take Nico-chi, Umi-chan and Kotori-chan can take Honoka-chan, and me and Eri-chi can take Maki-chan!" Nozomi said cheerfully. "The cards say this is for the best."

"If no one has a better idea, then let's go with Nozomi's." Eri said.

"Hang on. You're completely ignoring us here! Don't we get a say in what concerns us?!" Nico shouted. "Right, girls?!"

"I don't care really." Honoka said.

"I don't need care really." Maki said.

"You would, but your rooms are closer to the ones Nozomi named to take care of you than any of the others and yes, you need caring for, Maki. You can't even get on this couch without help anymore." The red head blushed at the reminder of how she tried and failed to get on the couch earlier.

"Fine…" Maki muttered.

"Now that that's settled, how about we try to get some sleep for the rest of the night?" Nozomi said with a smile. As one, the group moved toward the entrance to the living room and there split into three groups. Hanayo, Rin, and Nico went to the left, Nozomi, Eri, and Maki went to the right, and Umi, Kotori, and Honoka went straight.

~Hanayo, Rin, and Nico~

Rin insisted on holding Nico's hand despite the black haired girl's protests. Hanayo walked slightly slower than the other two and watched their interaction with a soft smile.

"Hey, Kayo-chin! You're the mom, okay?" Rin said suddenly.

"Huh?" Nico was confused and stopped trying to pull away. Hanayo matched Nico's confusion.

"I mean, it's like we're Nico-chan's parents now! You're more gentle so you should be the mom!"

"But wouldn't we both be moms? We're both female." Hanayo said.

"Oh, right!" Turning to Nico, "Got that, Nico-chan? We're your moms now!"

"That doesn't even make any sense…" Nico muttered. She pulled from Rin's grasp and ran into her room, slamming the door shut.

"I think she's mad." Hanayo whispered.

"Night, Nico-chan!" Rin shouted, not at all put down by having the door slammed in her face.

~Nozomi, Eri, and Maki~

While walking to where their rooms were, Nozomi had picked up Maki as soon as the others were out of sight.

"I can still walk you know…" Maki only said that half-heartedly. Even if she used to be old enough to stay awake this long, her current body couldn't match the will of her older mindset. She didn't struggle in Nozomi's arms but relaxed into them. She put one arm around Nozomi's neck for extra support as she laid her head on Nozomi's shoulder.

"I'm surprised that you're not fighting like you usually are, Maki." Eri teased. Maki only sighed in response. Nozomi looked down at the younger girl.

"I think she's asleep, Eri-chi." Nozomi said.

"That was fast!" Eri said. "Are you sure?" She bent down to see Maki's face. Sure enough, the red head had her eyes closed and her breathing was even. They made it to Maki's room and walked in to set the girl on her own bed. Nozomi bent over the bed, lowering Maki's lower half carefully before starting to remove the arms from around her neck.

"Eri-chi." Nozomi suddenly said.

"What is it, Nozomi?" Eri asked from her place by the door.

"She won't let go." Nozomi said, scared. Eri walked over, careful not to wake Maki, and tried prying Maki free from Nozomi. Just when she thought she got Maki loose, the girl started whimpering. Nozomi and Eri stepped back, but Maki continued to whine and thrash. Nozomi grabbed Maki again and immediately, the whining stopped.

"What are we going to do now?" Eri asked. They couldn't leave Maki alone if she whined that much by herself.

"Simple isn't it? Maki-chan will have to sleep with me tonight."

"Oh. Okay."

"Eri-chi is coming too?"

"If you want me to." With a small smile, Nozomi, carrying Maki, led Eri into her room. Eri slid the door shut behind her.

~Umi, Kotori, and Honoka~

"Why do I have to sleep? I don't want to sleep! I'm perfectly fine!" Honoka whined, shouted and ran circles around the other two girls to prove her point.

"HONOKA-" Umi started to say, only stopping because Kotori had bent down to Honoka's level.

"Honoka-chan?" Kotori asked cheerfully. She continued when she got the girl's attention, "Even if you're not tired, Umi-chan and I are. So can you go to sleep and then you can play more when it's actually morning." Honoka considered this.

"Okay~ Night, Kotori-chan, Umi-chan!" The younger girl scampered to her room and slid the door shut.

"Thanks. I almost blew up at her." Umi said.

"No problem, Umi-chan~"


	2. Game

A/N: Yay! Reviews!

NicoXMaki: There are pairings: NozoEri, RinPana, and KotoUmi. I haven't decided whether Honoka or Nico will get Maki yet.

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Surprisingly, Honoka was the first awake. She sat up in her bed and after recollecting the events of the night, leaped off her bed onto the floor. She slid her door open and ran out, in the opposite direction from where Umi and Kotori still slept. She was still full of that energy that she had when she was sent to bed and she ached to use it. Then she hit on what she thought was the greatest idea she'd ever had-well beside the one to create Muse.

"I'll go see if Nico-chan and Maki-chan are awake and then we can all play!" Satisfied with her decision, Honoka ran down the hall towards Nico's room. She slid the door open gently, not knowing if there were any others in the room. Upon finding that only Nico was in her room, Honoka scampered in. The bed was too high for Honoka to climb on, unlike her own bed.

"Nico-chan must have a way to get up there…Or else she wouldn't be sleeping on it…" Honoka muttered to herself, slowly circling the bed. On the other side of the bed, she found a stool that Nico must have put there the previous night to get onto her bed. Honoka wasted no time in scaling the stool and onto the bed she went. Nico was sprawled on the bed, her blanket not really covering her anymore, making that famous pose she was known for.

"Wake up, Nico-chan!" Honoka shouted, shaking the black-haired girl.

"Wha-?" Nico yawned and rubbed her eyes.

"Let's go get Maki-chan and play!"

"Play what exactly?" Nico pushed herself into a sitting position and stared, half-asleep at Honoka. "And how'd you get into my room? On my bed?"

"You know! The game that you, me, and Rin-chan always play!" Honoka said, excitedly, ignoring Nico's other questions. "You in?"

"…Fine. I'm awake already, so why not?" Nico watched Honoka climb back down the stool and followed. They left the door open as they ran to Maki's room. Honoka slid the door open gently like she did Nico's door. Nico peered in.

"There's no one there that I can see." Nico reported.

"Maybe she's on the bed, but on the far side so we can't see her?" Honoka suggested. They crept into the room, taking in what Maki had for decoration since she rarely let people in.

"I can't see anything. Is there a stool or something we can use?" Nico asked, looking around. Honoka looked too, and ran over to the closet. She pulled a box out and Nico went to push at it. They got it to the side of the bed and Honoka climbed onto the box. She was barely able to see over the edge of the bed but it was enough to see that Maki wasn't there.

"She's not here!" Honoka shouted to Nico.

"You don't have to shout! I'm right here!" Nico shouted back. "But maybe she's in Eri's or Nozomi's rooms? It could happen, you know."

"Then let's check Nozomi-chan's room first. Knowing her, she probably took Maki with her to sleep." Honoka said. She was careful to push the box she found back to where it was, unlike the other rooms where she just left things where she moved them. After exiting, they slid the door shut like no one had ever entered and continued down the hall to Nozomi's room. Nico opened the door this time and they slipped in.

"I don't see her… Honoka, what are you doing?" Nico asked as she watched Honoka drag Nozomi's swiveling chair from her desk to the bed.

"Getting onto the bed. What does it look like? Help me up, Nico-chan." Nico sighed but went over and stabilized the chair while Honoka climbed up and onto the bed.

"Is she there?" Nico whispered.

"Yeah. Hang on, I have to wake her without waking Nozomi-chan or Eri-chan." Honoka whispered back, disappearing from Nico's sight. Nico sighed again.

"Wait. Eri's here too?"

Honoka crawled around Nozomi's sleeping body and into the small space between her and Eri. Maki slept closer to Nozomi, though she had let go of the older woman at some point.

"Maki-chan!" Honoka hissed, reaching out to tap the sleeping red head. Maki shifted closer to Nozomi and continued sleeping. Honoka inched closer and shook Maki like she did Nico.

"Huh? What are you doing here, Honoka?" Maki asked sleepily. She got to her hands and knees and crawled slowly over to the other girl.

"Want to play with me and Nico-chan?" Honoka asked. Maki shrugged, "I guess so."

"Great!" Honoka crawled to the edge of the bed and slid down to the chair. She stayed there to help Maki down, first to the chair, then to Nico on the floor before hopping down herself. Then Honoka pushed the chair back to the desk. All three then fled the room.

"So…what are we playing?!" Maki managed to say as they ran to the lounge area.

"The game that me, Nico-chan and Rin-chan always play!" Honoka said back.

"I don't know how to play that!" Maki protested.

"It's okay, we'll teach you!" Nico shouted back. As they reached the lounge area, Nico went ahead to turn on the TV and system while Honoka tried to explain to Maki how to play.

"So this is a Wii remote." Honoka said, handing it to Maki. "You hold it sideways when playing Super Smash Bros Brawl. It's a fighting game so the point is to beat up all of your opponents until they lose their lives. The 2 button, over here, is the main attacking button. You also use it to pick up items. The 1 button makes your character use a different fighting move. Your character will jump if you push up on the control pad, over here, and characters usually can double jump. If you hold up and push one at the same time, the character will have a special attack that will usually save your character from falling by going higher than the normal jump. Some characters are capable of flight, but even that's limited. The minus button, right there, makes the character drop the item their holding and the plus button pauses the game. Understand?"

"No. But I think I get the main idea." Maki said, trying to process all that Honoka had said. "I'll figure it out as we play."

"I'm first player!" Nico shouted, having turned on the Wii and pushed the A button on her controller while Honoka was explaining.

"No fair!" Honoka whined. "Maki-chan, push the A button on your Wii remote." Maki pushed the button and the controller flashed that it is the second player.

"I'll be third player." Honoka said, smiling. She led Maki to the couch where Nico was already seated and they got on via small coffee table. Nico expertly navigated them to the character selection screen for a Brawl. Both Nico and Honoka changed their names from simply 'Player 1' and 'Player 3' to names they had made themselves.

"You should input your name or a nickname first, Maki-chan. I'll show you how." Nico said. She showed Maki how to scroll through the letters to make her own player name. Honoka selected the character she wanted for the brawl and then waited for the other two.

"Okay. Now what?" Maki asked, not knowing what to do after her name was inputted.

"You select a character! We already unlocked them all so just pick one!" Honoka said. She had chosen Pikachu, her favorite character in a brawl due to its Thunder attack. Nico selected Kirby for the brawl, being the character she knew best. Its adaptability and ability to fly had helped her win many a fight.

"Um…" Maki looked at all the characters before selecting Link, simply because she didn't know who could do what.

"Alright! Since it's Maki-chan's first time playing, she gets the right to pick the first stage!" Honoka said. Maki shrugged and picked one at random. It turned out that she had picked the newer version of the Pokemon Stadium stage. The fight started evenly, Honoka and Nico fighting with each other to give Maki a chance to figure out how to play before joining the fight. Both of them were equally matched, with equal percentages of damage when Maki charged into the fight. She was pushing buttons at random while the other two knew exactly how to play. No one was surprised that Maki was the first to be K.O.'d, though they were when she came back with a vengeance, knocking the other two off the field with a single blow. Now, Honoka and Nico started to attack Maki as well as each other. Then, Maki hit the Smash Ball and got its power.

"Now what?" Maki asked. The uses of the other items had been pretty self-explanatory but this one just formed an aura around her character.

"For Link, you have to get close to a character and then push 1." Honoka said, moving Pikachu away from Link. Maki heeded the instructions and charged Kirby, knocking the character off the screen with Link's Final Smash.

"Player 1 defeated!" The game announced. Nico sighed and fell back against the couch.

"Just you and me, Maki-chan!" Honoka said. She was excited about this, a newbie beating an expert, with a character she had no idea how to use at the beginning.

"Oh, you're on." Maki was equally excited, wanting to beat Honoka at her own game. Link and Pikachu charged at each other on screen and locked in an intense close combat battle. Honoka used Pikachu's Thunder move which sent Link flying backwards, but Maki caught him before he fell off the stage. Maki made Link charge back towards Pikachu and unleashed a flurry of hits that resulted with Pikachu flying off-screen, followed by an explosion.

"GAME!" the TV announced. The brawl was over. Maki had emerged victorious.

"I want a re-match." Nico said. None of them changed their characters, but Honoka picked a different stage and the battles continued.

Nozomi woke with a start. "Huh? Where's Maki-chan?" At the same time as she asked herself that question, Hanayo and Kotori did the same.

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Review please!

Random question: Who do you think Maki should end up with? PM or review answers accepted! ^_^


	3. Your Punishment is Shopping

**A/N: Based on your responses, I believe the best way to appease all the requests will to make it a threesome. Maki, Honoka, and Nico will be spending a lot of time together anyway.**

**sangyoontae: I wasn't planning on putting Super Smash Bros Brawl in there. They were just going to play a game, which I hadn't decided what, but after playing it at my cousin's house, I just put in the story.**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Love Live! Or any other things referenced in the story.**

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"She beat us?! Again?!" Nico shouted in disbelief. "But it was the two of us and a CPU against her this time! I want another rematch!"

"Sure. You're on, Nico-chan." Maki grinned mischieviously. After learning how to play, she hadn't lost a single brawl. The closest she came to losing was being the second to lose, and that only happened once.

"Honoka, you're with me right?" Nico asked, waiting on the character select screen.

"Nope! I don't want to lose to Maki-chan again, so I'm switching to her team!" Honoka clicked on her Pikachu and switched it to Maki's red team.

"Traitor!" Nico cried.

"You can make the CPU go up to Nasty level." Honoka suggested.

"…Fine." Nico agreed.

"Eri-chi! Wake up this instant!" Nozomi shook her friend.

"Five more minutes…" Eri muttered. Nozomi grumbled and shoved Eri off the side of the bed to the floor. Eri hit the floor hard and laid there, groaning.

"Are you awake now?" Nozomi called down cheerfully.

"Yeah… I'd prefer a wake-up kiss next time though." Eri muttered, standing up. "So what's the matter?" It took Nozomi a second to remember what she woke Eri for. "Maki-chan's missing!"

"What?" Eri asked, not comprehending.

"I said, Maki-chan's not here! I don't know where she is!" Nozomi shouted.

"Let's check outside. She's smart. She wouldn't have left the house without telling someone." Eri reasoned. She took Nozomi's hand, calming the purple-haired girl, and led her out of the room. "We should check with the others. Maybe they would know."

"Umi-chan! Umi-chan! Wake up, Umi-chan!" Kotori shouted, banging on the bluenette's door. After that one incident involving a sleeping Umi, Honoka, and a lot of whipped cream, Umi kept her door locked at night, which meant that Kotori had to yell to the other girl. She paused, resting a bit, and heard the girl on the inside unlocking the door. Umi opened it a crack to see who it was and opened the door fully when she saw it was Kotori.

"What is it, Kotori?" Umi stifled a yawn. "Is it Honoka again?"

"Yes it's Honoka-chan! She's not in her room! I just checked!" Kotori was panicking. Honoka could get hurt in so many ways if she was on her own.

"I don't think Honoka's that much of an idiot to wander off by herself. We should check with the others. Maybe they've seen her. She should still be in the house." Umi said calmly. Kotori nodded and they walked down the hall toward the lounge.

"Rin-chan! This is an emergency! Wake up already!" Hanayo tugged Rin's blanket off of her.

"W-what is it, Kayo-chin?" Rin asked groggily. She yawned and stretched in a catlike fashion.

"It's an emergency!" Hanayo repeated. "Nico-chan's…missing!"

"What?!" Rin blinked, suddenly wide awake. "Oh no. This is bad. We shouldn't have taken responsibility for Nico-chan."

"We're going to have to tell the others, so we might as well do it now." Hanayo stated. "Come on, Rin-chan." Together, they headed down the hallway to the lounge.

"Huh? Why is everyone coming here?" Nozomi asked.

"We, uh, have something to say." Umi said. Just then, Hanayo and Rin came into the area

"This-This is bad!" Hanayo said.

"Wait, we were here first. We should speak first." Eri said.

"No, our information is more important. Right, Umi-chan?" Kotori countered.

"This is an emergency! Let Kayo-chin speak!" Rin shouted. Then there was silence. Each pair looked at each other, wondering who should speak first.

"Why don't we all speak at once?" Umi suggested.

"That works, I guess." Eri agreed.

"Maki-chan's missing!"

"Honoka-chan's missing!"

"Nico-chan's missing!"

More silence, this time because all six needed time for what the others had said to sink in. A faint explosion was heard from the direction of the lounge followed by an announcer saying 'GAME' in a louder voice.

"Wait…" Eri started.

"Do you think…" Umi continued.

"Are they playing that game in the lounge?" Hanayo finished. Well, it wouldn't hurt to look, was the general consensus of the group. They tromped into the lounge area to find their charges arguing about how fair or unfair the brawl was.

"You have Maki-chan on your team! Plus, you said I could make the CPU nasty level!"

"Well- uh…" Honoka couldn't come up with a comeback.

"Does it really matter? Let's just get on with the next fight." Maki said impatiently.

"Having fun, are we?" Umi asked, a dark aura surrounding her.

"Yeah!" Honoka agreed, then turned to see who she had agreed to. "Uh oh…" This got the attention of the other two and they turned to see the disapproving faces of the other six members.

"Scatter!" Honoka shouted. She threw the Wii remote aside, leapt off the couch, slipped on the coffee table, rolled a bit, then got to her feet and ran in the direction of their indoor dance studio. Nico had the same idea but dashed opposite of where Honoka was running. She stumbled and almost fell before running toward the kitchen. Maki watched the two go from her seat on the couch. She didn't want to hurt herself by running off the coffee table, nor did she want to jump down from the couch. She decided to sit right where she was and accept whatever was coming for her, knowing that Honoka and Nico would have it worse since they ran for it. Eri and Nozomi walked around the couch to sit next to Maki while the other pairs went to find their charges.

"Maki-chan? Why are you not looking at us?" Nozomi asked gently. The small red-head had drawn her knees to her chest and was staring at her feet.

"Just so you know, we're not mad or disappointed, Maki." Eri said. Maki looked at her in surprise.

"Why not?" She asked in a small voice.

"We know you're an adult and therefore capable of making your own decisions." Eri said.

"But, now, you're also a child. And a child can get hurt more easily than an adult. We were really worried that you could have gotten yourself in a situation that you couldn't get out of easily." Nozomi said.

"And by 'we' she means herself." Eri couldn't help adding.

"Eri-chi!" Nozomi huffed. Maki smiled, then looked back down. "Sorry for worrying you…"

"Next time, just make sure to tell one of us where you're going so we would know where to find you." Eri said with a smile of her own.

"Now, let's get washed up so we can eat breakfast." Nozomi and Eri stood up. Maki hesitated, then held her arms out to Nozomi. The older woman chuckled and heeded her unspoken request and picked the red head up. The three of them made their way back to their part of the house.

The kitchen was huge. It was clean due to the fact only some of them were capable of cooking their own meals. To search the place for a small child meant that the two of them would have to search all the cupboards near the floor because all of them were big enough to hold a girl Nico's size. Hanayo and Rin started on opposing sides to cover more ground with less time wasted.

'They'll never find me.' Nico thought to herself. Just then, Hanayo peered into her hiding space.

"Rin-chan! She's over here!" Hanayo called. 'Dammit…' Nico thought.

"That's great! You found her!" Rin trotted over and peered in as well. "You have no idea how worried we were, Nico-chan!"

"You guys…were worried…about me?" Nico asked, confused.

"Of course we were! You're just a kid now and you could get seriously hurt or something!" Rin told her seriously.

"Come out, Nico-chan. Let's go get ready for the day." Hanayo reached a hand out to the black-haired girl. Nico accepted it and allowed Hanayo to pull her out. Rin claimed Nico's other hand and they headed back to their part of the house.

"Of all the places to go and hide, she chooses the dance studio." Umi muttered. She and Kotori were standing in the center of the room, surveying all the places a child could hide due to the mess that lined the walls.

"At least we know she couldn't have left this room." Kotori said, trying to put a positive spin on their situation. There was only one entrance and exit to the room, and they had just entered through it.

Umi sighed. "You start over there. I'll look over here." Kotori headed across the room and started searching for her childhood friend. It was Umi who found her, sitting in a corner formed by two speakers.

"Ehe…Hi, Umi-chan…" Honoka grinned timidly. Kotori came over upon hearing Honoka's voice and the girl cringed as both stared down at her without saying a word.

"Causing trouble again. Just like always." Umi muttered. "Come on, we have to wash up or else we won't be able to eat breakfast."

"You're…not going to punish me or anything?" Honoka asked.

"No. Why would we?" Kotori asked back.

"No reason~" Honoka hopped out of her hiding place. "What are we waiting for?! Let's go!" She charged off ahead of the two adults.

"She never changes." Umi grumbled.

"But that makes it exciting, right?" Kotori smiled. They followed their charge back to their rooms, knowing she wouldn't be able to reach anything without help.

"…What you're saying is…none of you is capable of cooking anything breakfast related?" Nico asked. She stood on her chair, facing the adults who had their heads bowed.

"I can make rice…" Hanayo whispered.

"I can do ramen…" Rin said.

"I never had to cook before." Maki stated. She and Honoka were also standing on their chairs, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to see over the table.

"You're excused since you're a kid now." Nico said. "But seriously? None of you know how to cook?"

"Why don't we go out to eat today, Nico-chi? We're going to have to go shopping later anyway. You three can't go around wearing night shirts only." Nozomi suggested, bringing a blush to the trio's faces.

"Fine. Only because no one can cook." With that settled, they all piled into a minivan that they owned, with Eri driving. Someone suggested that they go to a restaurant that served Western styled breakfasts and after eating, headed to a shopping mall.

"Let's make this quick. I want to play some more!" Honoka declared. After a bit of confusion involving who should go where with whom and a directory, they agreed that it would be better to stay together while shopping for clothes. For Honoka, they managed to find a Muse t-shirt her size and a pair of jeans to use as basis for finding her clothes because Umi and Kotori could not keep her focused for more than a minute on the clothes she should have been looking for. The results of this were three brightly colored t-shirts, two pairs of jeans, a pair of shorts, two pairs of pajamas, and a pair of sneakers. They also somehow managed to get her a swimming suit after she reminded them that they owned a pool before dashing off again. And since it was starting to get cold, they purchased a light brown jacket with a hood that had bear's ears on it.

In Nico's case, Hanayo and Rin had to stop her from trying everything on. They had a budget to spend from and they couldn't afford that many clothes anyway. Nico settled for having two t-shirts, one long sleeve shirt, a pair of shorts, a skirt, leggings, two pairs of pajamas, and boots. After seeing Honoka's swim suit and jacket, she decided that she wanted one for herself, only her jacket was a black and white panda themed one.

As for Maki, Nozomi basically chose everything for her and she only had to say whether she liked or disliked the clothing. She ended up with two t-shirts, two long sleeve shirts, one pair of jeans, a pair of shorts, leggings, a small dress, one pair of pajamas, and running shoes. At Honoka's insistence, she also chose a swim suit and her own animal themed jacket- a jaguar.

Seeing as they still had some money left over, they decided that each of the children would be allowed to pick one toy-one toy only-from a nearby toy store.

"Pikachu's the best!" Honoka exclaimed, clutching a Pikachu plush.

"No, Kirby's better!" Nico shot back, holding a Kirby plush.

"Pikachu!"

"Kirby!"

"Pikachu!"

"Kirby!"

"PIKACHU!"

"KIRBY!"

"Can't you both just say they're about equal?" Maki asked. She was holding a plush shaped like a cat lying on its stomach instead of a character from the game.

"NO!" Both shouted. Then Honoka had an idea.

"Which is better, Maki-chan? Pikachu or Kirby?" Now both of their attention was on the red head. She took a step back at the sudden question. Nozomi saved her from answering by taking the plushes from the trio.

"If we pool the money we have left from buying their clothes, we have barely enough to pay for these…" Umi calculated. The plushes were paid for and returned to their new owners.

When they returned to their homes, the trio, led by Honoka, announced that they'd be playing in the lounge while they waited for their clothes to be washed. After depositing the clothes into the washer, the adults joined their charges in the living room to see who would win the race as Honoka had decided to introduce Maki to Mario Kart for a change of pace.

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**And that's all for this chapter! As always, review please!**


	4. Chef Nico to the Rescue

**A/N: I'm sorry for not updating yesterday. I had to take my brother and cousin to an arcade and that took the entire day.**

** I ****have no plans of Honoka/Tsubasa. There is a reason to why the three turned into children-I've already thought it out- and the reason won't fit for Tsubasa to turn into a kid. I might bring in A-Rise next chapter, as adults.**

**I still don't own Love Live.**

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"Say…what are we going to do for dinner?" Muse had basically spent the entire day loafing around playing video games, taking turns as there weren't that many controllers. The question was brought up by Kotori, having remembered that it was close to that time.

"We are not going out to eat again!" Nico declared. "I'm going to cook for us, though one or two of you are going to need to help." She looked at all the members in turn and they reluctantly agreed. "Hanayo, you cook the rice. Rin, if you want ramen, go and cook it. Everybody else, follow my instructions!" With that, Nico hopped off the couch and marched to the kitchen with Hanayo and Rin in tow.

"Um…me and Umi-chan will do to the laundry, if the rest of you don't mind…" Kotori said.

"Go ahead." Eri said. "Someone has to fold those clothes." Kotori smiled and took Umi away. Eri, Nozomi, Honoka, and Maki made their way to the kitchen.

"What are you planning on making, Nico-chi?" Nozomi asked.

"Curry." Nico responded, pulling one of the chairs from the table to the stove. "Eri, can you get these ingredients? There should be a box in the cupboard with Vermont Curry written on it. Bring it down and then get the coconut milk from the canned goods. Nozomi, can you peel those carrots and potatoes? The potatoes need to be boiled after you peel them." The older women started their assigned tasks, feeling slightly put-off by being told what to do by a little kid. A little kid who happened to be the only one capable of cooking in the entire house.

"Hey, Nico-chan, what can we do?" Honoka asked.

"Can you get me a wok from over there?" Nico had already climbed her chair and didn't really want to get back down. "It's heavy so both of you should carry it." Honoka nodded and went over to get the wok. She and Maki had to carry it between them to get it over to Nico's chair. Then they met another problem. There was no way for Honoka and Maki to pass the wok to Nico above them and then have Nico lift it to the top of the stove.

"Give me that." Eri plucked the wok from Honoka, Maki, and Nico with one hand and placed it on the stove. "Is there anything else that is required for this?" The ingredients that Nico had previously told her to get were already waiting on the counter. Nozomi placed the peeled potatoes into a pot of water and turned the fire on.

"We need to fill the wok with water, not that much though." Eri nodded and filled the wok halfway with tap water. She placed it back on the stove and turned on the fire.

"Can you remove a packet from the curry box and plop it in?" Eri popped the box opened, took out a packet, opened it, and poured its contents into the wok.

"Honoka-chan, Maki-chan, I need a ladle. It should be in that drawer over there." Nico pointed to one of the drawers. They nodded. Honoka pulled a chair over to the drawer and helped Maki up. Maki opened the drawer, took the ladle out, and passed it down to Honoka, who ran over to Nico and gave it to her. Maki slid off the chair and pushed back to its previous position.

"The potatoes are done." Nozomi announced.

"Eri, pour the coconut milk in please. Nozomi, can you put the carrots and potatoes in?" Nico stirred the mixture until it was smooth, then called to the other cooks, "Are you guys done over there?"

"The rice is ready!" Hanayo cried.

"My ramen is too!" Rin exclaimed.

"Start serving up the food, peoples!" Nico hopped down from her chair and pushed it back to the table. "Honoka-chan, go get Umi and Kotori." Honoka mocked-saluted her and dashed off. She ran into the laundry room excitedly.

"Dinner's ready~!" She shouted, nearly deafening the two who were right there.

"Okay, okay. Sheesh." Umi muttered. "We're coming." The three of them walked back to the kitchen area and found that everybody had already sat down. With the exception of Hanayo and Rin, everyone's meal was pretty much the same, a plate with rice and curry poured over it. Honoka ate messily, often forgetting that she should have been eating smaller bites despite reminders from Kotori. As a result, the clothes designer had to wipe her friend's face every few minutes. The other two ate more sensibly and thus had less of a mess when they finished. Nozomi and Kotori were sentenced to dish duty by the chore chart and the others had three messy children to deal with. Eri, Umi, and Hanayo made a quick trip to the laundry room to grab the children's nightclothes and led their respective charges to the three different bathrooms.

"I don't want to take a bath! I don't need to take a bath!" Honoka chanted, running circles around Umi's legs until the bluenette had to pick her up and carry her under one arm to the bathroom. Honoka extended her arms and legs.

"I'm flying!" She exclaimed, thoroughly enjoying herself, though the same could not be said for Umi. Upon reaching the bathroom, Umi turned on the tap, waiting for the tub to fill before turning it off and looking back at Honoka. Relieved that the girl hadn't run off, Umi stripped Honoka of her clothes and removed her own.

"Hey, Umi-chan? Why did you take off your clothes too?" Honoka asked.

"I'm probably going to get wet anyway, knowing you. So, we're going to be taking a bath together." Umi said.

"Wow. I thought you'd never be able to say that without blushing~" Honoka grinned. Umi rolled her eyes and sat the ginger before the shower head.

"You might want to close your eyes." Umi suggested, reaching for the shower head and turning it on. Honoka already had her eyes shut tight when Umi started spraying her with water. Umi turned off the water after making sure Honoka was completely wet and, grabbing the shampoo bottle, squeezed some of the soap into her hand. She rubbed the soap into Honoka's hair, making sure to get every last strand. She turned on the water again and rinsed the girl's hair free of soap before turning her attention to the ginger's body.

"Um…Umi-chan, I think I can wash my body myself…" Honoka said hesitantly. 'Is it just me, or is Honoka…blushing?' Umi thought, saying aloud, "Sure." She passed the body soap to Honoka and took a backseat, watching the child apply the soap to herself. Honoka quickly rinsed herself off and jumped into the bath, where she sat staring at Umi. Umi, a bit confused, washed herself and joined Honoka in the bath. The two sat on opposite sides of the tub.

"Honoka, what's wrong?" Dense as she was, Umi knew when her friend was troubled by something.

"It's nothing!" Honoka said with a fake smile. "I was just thinking about how lucky you and Kotori-chan are…having each other." 'Ah. I think I know why she didn't want me touching her earlier.' Umi thought.

"Don't worry, Honoka. You will find someone who loves you a lot, to the point of risking her life for you." Umi said these words with certainty, firmly believing that there had to be someone out there who loved Honoka.

"Yeah...you're right!" Honoka smiled up at her friend. Umi smiled back, glad that Honoka was back to her normal self.

"Now how about we get out and get dressed for bed?" Umi asked.

"I don't want to leave the bath!" Honoka cried, then giggled when Umi rolled her eyes and plucked her out of the water. 'Thanks, Umi-chan.'

"You are not getting in the bath with me!" Nico pointed a finger at Hanayo, who was still holding their pajamas.

"Sorry, Nico-chan, but I have to. It's my job now to make sure you're safe. I won't try to help you if you don't want me to, but I need to watch you." Hanayo said, a bit stern, as she put the clothes on a shelf. Nico deflated slightly and took off her clothes. "Fine. Just 'cause I'm a kid now." She went into the shower as Hanayo was taking off her own clothes and turned the tap on for the bath. Nico sat down in front of the shower and began to wash herself as Hanayo walked in with a towel wrapped around herself. She waited until Nico had finished and gotten into the bath before using the shower. Rin came in just as Hanayo finished her shower, without a towel. Nico averted her eyes and faced the wall.

"Rin-chan, I don't think we can all fit in the bathtub…" Hanayo said, slipping into the warm water. She made sure to keep as far from Nico as she could to give the girl some semblance of personal space.

"It's okay, Kayo-chin! You and Nico-chan aren't that big!" Rin leapt into the tub and sat facing Hanayo, with Nico now right between them. "See?"

"I've had enough." Nico pushed herself up out of the bath and exited the room. The other two could see her through the glass, drying herself.

"I'm going out." Hanayo said.

"Why?! Do you not like me here?" Rin asked sadly.

"It's not that Rin-chan!" Hanayo panicked. "It's just that I put Nico-chan's clothes on a shelf and I don't think she can reach it. I'll let her out and then come back in, okay?" Rin nodded, already back to her normal self. Hanayo walked out, dripping water, and passed the clothes to Nico. The black-haired girl put them on and exited the room as quickly as she could when Hanayo opened the door. Then the brunette rejoined her love in the tub.

Eri stared down at Maki. Maki looked up at Eri. They were standing in the bathroom, wondering how they were going to do what Nozomi told them to do.

"_Eri-chi, since I have to wash the dishes, you have to wash Maki-chan. She better be clean by the time you're done."_

"Well, um, you should take off your clothes…" Eri trailed off awkwardly.

"Okay." Maki took off her clothes. "Now what? Aren't you coming with me?"

"Oh…right…" Eri stood there, not moving, until Maki tugged at her pants. The motion got Eri moving on her own until they both stood in the bathroom as before, this time without clothing.

"You go in first." Eri said, opening the door that separated the bathing area from the rest of the bathroom. Maki stepped in and Eri followed the red head in, shutting the door behind them.

"Do you want me to help or can you shower yourself?" Eri asked.

"I think I can do it myself." Maki replied, and she did. In fact, she did it so quickly and was on her way to the tub that Eri had to grab her before she could get in to do an inspection.

"You're not clean yet. Sit back down and I'll help you this time." Eri's tone left no room for argument that Maki meekly sat back down onto the stool. Eri took her time washing Maki, getting herself completely wet in the process. After turning off the water, and looking at Maki again, Eri turned the girl loose and Maki slipped into the tub.

"You rubbed too hard." She complained from the safety of the tub.

"If you weren't clean, Nozomi would kill me. I'd prefer staying alive, thank you very much." Eri shot back, starting her own shower.

"She wouldn't. She loves you too much to do that." Eri paused and looked at Maki.

"What makes you say that?" Eri asked, trying to sound casual as she continued showering.

"The way she looks at you. Lucky." Maki had turned away when Eri looked over at her the second time. By this time, Eri had finished cleaning herself and joined Maki in the bath. The red head kept her distance, not looking at Eri. An awkward silence filled the air.

"Um…Maki, is there something bothering you?"

"No." She finally turned to Eri. "I thought I saw something over there." Eri sighed with relief and pulled the girl closer.

"What are you doing?" Maki asked.

"Giving you a hug. What does it look like?" Eri asked playfully. Maki 'hmmed' in response and continued looking away.

She did, however, get out of the bath willingly when Eri asked her to.

All nine of them were in the lounge for a meeting about what they should do in regard to the children. Well, the six adults were. The three involved were holding a small meeting of their own.

"When you go to sleep, stay in your own room. This means you Maki-chan." Maki protested that she had no idea what she was doing since she was asleep when Nozomi took her to her room but Honoka continued anyway as if she hadn't interrupted. "Wait a while, then meet me here. We're going to have a sleepover."

"In our own house?" Nico said. "Isn't that weird?"

"Plus, they said that we had to tell them so they won't worry." Maki pointed out.

"Does it matter? We're adults too! I say we get to do what we want. Besides, it won't hurt anyone." Honoka said. She wouldn't take no for an answer so the other two muttered their agreements. They met later that night and settled in the lounge to sleep together.

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**As always, review please!**


	5. A-Rise vs Muse(6) vs Muse(3)

**A/N: **

**lineonthecanvas: I liked your idea but yeah, paintball would be dangerous. So I made them have a water war instead.**

**Disclaimer: Do not attempt to repeat at home. Well, you could. But it's not my fault. I still don't own Love Live.**

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They woke to their doorbell ringing. Well, actually, it was only Rin that woke up at first. The others had dismissed the doorbell and fell back into the relaxing arms of sleep as the orange-haired girl dashed through the halls of their house. Rin was moving so fast that she couldn't stop herself upon reaching the lounge. She hit the couch, flipped over it, and landed on something soft.

"Nya?" She sat up and stared confusedly at what she landed on. "The lounge floor isn't soft…" She was sitting on one of three futons that were spread out on the floor. However, the futon she was sitting on wasn't being occupied at the moment. She glanced behind her and saw the three children sleeping peacefully: Honoka sprawled sideways between the two other futons and Nico and Maki clinging to both sides. The bell rang again, startling Rin, before she remembered what she came out to do. Carefully, so that she wouldn't wake the children, she eased out of the living room, only to run into Nozomi.

"Ouch!" She yelped. Nozomi eyed her curiously.

"Why haven't you opened the door yet?"

"I was going to!" Rin responded, forgetting that the three children were sleeping just a few feet away.

"Shut up!" Both adults turned just in time to be hit in the face by several plushes. When the plushes fell away from their targets, they found that it was Maki who had thrown all of them. She was glaring at them, still half asleep that she didn't seem to recognize them. This became apparent as she rushed them.

"Die, you mushroom-eating plumbers!" Maki picked up one of the fallen plushes, her cat, and swung it like it was a sword at Rin, forcing the older woman to jump out of the way.

"Someone has been exposed to too much video game." Nozomi observed. She watched Maki pick up the Kirby plush and throw it like a grenade at Rin, mimicking Link's movements from SSBB.

"Don't just stand there, Nozomi-chan! Do something!" Rin shouted, fending off Maki's attacks. Plushes didn't hurt much but the amount of force Maki was putting behind each attack made it hurt more than it should have.

"Okay, okay…" Nozomi grabbed Maki from behind and turned her around so that they were facing each other. The red head focused her gaze on Nozomi's face.

"…Nozomi…" She whispered and wrapped her arms around Nozomi's neck, going back to sleep. The moment was ruined by the doorbell, which now sounded like someone was using a machine gun to hit the button.

"Now, Rin-chan, let's go get the door." Nozomi walked to the door, carrying the sleeping red-head. With a glance over at the other two children 'how are they still asleep?', Rin followed Nozomi to the door. Nozomi shifted her hold on Maki so that she could reach the doorknob with one arm. The door swung open to reveal one irritated Tsubasa, Erena, and Anju, all dressed in swim suits. The last two carried bags filled with water guns and unfilled water balloons. The leader of A-Rise carried a backpack and she glared at the purple haired woman.

"Good morning~" Nozomi smiled. "What do you three need?"

"Did you girls forget about the water war we had planned for today? You even told us to show up early with all the supplies!" Tsubasa shouted. Maki whimpered in Nozomi's arms, not liking the noise. This got Tsubasa's attention and she took a closer look at what she originally thought was a bag or something.

"WATER WAR!" The hyperactive Honoka ran past Nozomi and stopped in front of A-Rise. "I heard someone say water war!" She beamed, having heard it in her sleep.

"You slept through everything but woke up at the mention of a water war in another room?" Rin said in disbelief. A-Rise didn't say anything. They were busy staring at the childish forms of Honoka and Maki and trying to process the new information.

"Why don't you three step inside? We'll explain there." Nozomi suggested. "Rin-chan, please go wake everyone up. Nico-chan too." Rin nodded and headed back into the house.

"Let's go inside, Honoka." Nozomi took hold of one of Honoka's hands while still retaining her hold on Maki and led the ginger head in. Tsubasa, Erena, and Anju followed. Tsubasa still in disbelief, Erena starting to get over the new information, and Anju already accepting the fact. The third A-Rise member shut the door behind them.

When they got to the lounge, they found that the futons had already been cleared up. Sizzling sounds from the kitchen told Nozomi that Nico was in there making breakfast though she didn't know if someone was watching the child.

"You can put the stuff down on the floor." They plopped their bags down and sighed.

"So…what happened?" Tsubasa asked, gesturing at Honoka and Maki. The ginger was going through the water gun bag while the red head still clung to Nozomi.

"We'll explain after everyone gets here. I did say that, right?" Nozomi took a seat on the couch, running one hand through Maki's hair.

"By the way, did you girls eat breakfast yet?"

All twelve females were gathered around the kitchen table, eating their way through plates of eggs and sausages that Nico had prepared on her own. Rin and Hanayo scolded her lightly for doing something like that by herself, but left off when the one being scolded reminded them of the breakfast that was on the table. Likewise, Umi stopped scolding Honoka over sleeping in the lounge because the food (and Kotori) beckoned her.

"So…someone explain what happened already." Tsubasa said.

"We don't know." Eri replied.

"They woke up as children yesterday at around midnight-ish." Rin put in.

"I want to do the water war!" Honoka declared, standing on her chair.

"Sit down, Honoka! No one is talking about that!" Umi scolded. The ginger sat down, but she was in no way deterred from being excited.

"Are we still going to do the water war like we planned?" Anju asked. She had already finished her food so she spoke from where she was washing her dishes.

"Why not?" Nozomi said. "It's better than having those three sit down in front of the TV again." Rin gulped, remembering what happened earlier.

"What are the teams going to be then?" Erena asked. "Obviously, me, Anju, and Tsubasa are a team."

"I want to be on the same team with Nico-chan and Maki-chan!" Honoka shouted.

"Um…would you mind if the rest of us were on one team?" Hanayo asked.

"Whatever you guys want." Tsubasa decided. "This will be outside only, right?"

"Yeah." Eri replied.

Today, Umi and Honoka were supposed to be on dish duty but the ginger was excused due to being 'incapable of washing dishes' and Kotori took her place despite having been on that certain chore the day before. In the meantime, the others were getting suited up for the war.

Each player was given one water gun and 20 unfilled water balloons that would have to be filled during the battle. The rules were simple, you get shot, you were out. Once out, the person could either retreat into the house or relax in the pool. There were several places to fill water balloons and water guns. Buckets were filled and placed in random areas for reloading the guns and faucets on the walls were equipped with a water balloon filling too. Near the pool was a small shed that provided some hiding area but made it hard to get any water refills as the only source there was the pool and one bucket. Closer to the house was the barbeque grill area. This area had access to the faucets on the house wall as well as one bucket, along with a wall that blocked attackers from two sides. However, a team could get trapped there as there was only one exit. Across the pool was a system of planters that participants could duck behind. It would be easy to take out enemies and hide but there were no ways of getting water except to run out and risk getting shot.

Each team met to discuss their strategies and then dispersed. Kotori set an alarm to go off in 30 seconds so that everyone would have some time to hide themselves.

Being small, the three children opted to hide among the planters. They would lie in wait and hope that the adults took each other out before joining the fray. The alarm went out and the war was on. A water balloon was tossed from the shed area into the barbeque area with a splash. The six adult Muse were forced out of their hiding spot to avoid being knocked out of the game early. A-Rise took this chance to attack, shooting at Muse from behind the shed. Tsubasa knelt down below her teammates as they shot wildly to startle their enemies and took careful aim at Hanayo. She squeezed the trigger and the squirt of water hit its target. Hanayo cried as the cold water hit her, laid down her water gun and went inside to watch in safety. Tsubasa high-fived the other two. The adult Muse were more wary now and half of them watched the shed while the other half kept an eye on the planters.

"How did they fill a water balloon? There's no faucets behind the shed." Nico muttered to Honoka.

"Dunno. Wait, maybe they used their guns to fill the balloon?" Honoka thought about it. "It seems likely that they could have done that."

"What should we do? Do we fill a water balloon too?" Maki asked. Honoka raised her head high enough to see over the planters and looked around.

"Maki-chan, crawl to the right. There's only a small space between this planter and the wall. Cross over and fill as many as you can and roll them back to Nico-chan and me." Maki nodded and, holding her gun with one hand, made the small dash to the wall. Rin noticed and shot at her but missed barely. Umi had started to sneak around the shed, in A-Rise's blind spot, to try and scare them out as Muse had been. A cry, followed by Umi storming inside, showed that her plan had failed. Maki filled one balloon after another and rolled them across to Nico. Once they had ten balloons, Honoka motioned for Maki to come back over, but Rin and Nozomi were expecting her. The red head was hit by twin shots of water. She pouted and eased herself into the pool to wait out the rest of the match.

"For Maki-chan!" Honoka and Nico threw water balloons at Rin and Nozomi, drenching them both. Rin whined and went inside to find a towel while Nozomi joined Maki in the water. The two children ducked again behind the planter to avoid incoming shots.

"Now what?" Nico hissed.

"A-Rise is still out there, along with Kotori-chan and Eri-chan. Wait-" Eri, ducking behind an ice cooler, sniped Erena and the A-Rise member slipped into the pool where Nozomi and Maki had started a game of catch. "Erena-san's out."

"So now it's just two members per each team?" Nico said. Honoka nodded. Nico grabbed one of their remaining water balloons and threw it high into the air.

"What are you doing, Nico-chan?!" Honoka shrieked. "We only have two left now!"

"Wait for it…" The water balloon landed on Eri's head, dousing the half-Russian with water. Now Kotori alone remained on the adult Muse team. "Bullseye!" Nico did a min-fistpump.

"Now I'm going to try to take out the other two A-Rise." Nico whispered. She trotted off without waiting for Honoka's response, taking one of the remaining water balloons with her. Honoka sighed and took aim at Kotori. She hesitated for a bit before squeezing the trigger. Kotori sighed and joined Umi inside the house. A splash was heard from behind the shed. Anju walked out with Nico under her arm.

"At least Nico-chan got one of them…" Honoka muttered to herself. It was just her and Tsubasa left in the war. "All or nothing, I guess." Grabbing the last water balloon, Honoka ran toward the shed just as Tsubasa came out of hiding. She threw the water balloon, then started shooting blasts of water even as she was being shot back. The water balloon hit first and Tsubasa knew she had lost.

"WE WON!" Honoka screamed and jumped into the pool. She swam over to Nico and Maki, grinning like crazy.

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**Review please.**


	6. All Good Things Must Come to an End

**A/N: I apologize in advance for A-Rise. I don't really know their personalities, but I think Tsubasa would be more childish than the other two, much like Honoka.**

**All good things will come to an end at some point. You'll understand what I mean by the end.**

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At Honoka's insistence, they all went to the arcade after cleaning up from the water war.

"And here we are, trying not to let them play too many video games in an area full of video games." Umi said.

"It should be fine. We'll only stay for two hours at the maximum, Umi-chan. Besides, it's been a while since we have hung out with A-Rise." Kotori said.

"Too bad Tsubasa isn't a child like the other three. She'd fit right in." Erena said. The mentioned leader of A-Rise was currently teaching the other three ways to win at the arcade, ranging from the strategy to always get some sort of prize from the claw machine to scoring hundred after hundred on Skee-ball.

"How often…does she come here?" Eri inquired.

"I think around once a week. Something about meeting Honoka here once and them having a play session every week after that." Anju stated. She drifted over to a zombie slaying video game and picked up one of the guns. "Who wants to play co-op with me?"

"I'll pass, thank you." Umi said, growing pale. Kotori led the scared bluenette away, shooting an apologetic glance back at the others.

"I guess we spread out then?" Hanayo suggested.

"Might as well." Eri sighed.

"Though someone should probably keep an eye on those four. I don't think Tsubasa is responsible enough to watch three small children, even if they are technically adults." Erena said.

"I'll watch them." Nozomi said. "The rest of you can go have fun." The purple haired woman followed the four overly excited people as they wandered from game to game.

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The group of twelve were now heading back to the house Muse owned. Tsubasa had apparently thought it was okay to spend the night and had told Erena and Anju to bring night clothes without having asked Muse first. Honoka thought it was okay for them to stay over, "they can always use the spare futons and sleep in the lounge", and no one really bothered to argue. They were crossing an intersection, the children trailing slightly behind the adults. Every once in a while, one of the adult Muse members would glance back and make sure that they were alright.

"I know it's kind of weird for me to ask this now, but do either of you know why we turned into kids?" Maki asked. The three of them had been walking at the same pace, but when Honoka and Nico stopped, Maki kept going. She was almost on the sidewalk when she noticed they were no longer at her side and turned to look at them curiously. They were both staring at the ground.

"Hey, Maki-chan. Did you have fun?" Honoka asked in an empty voice so different from her normal one.

"Who do you love Maki-chan? I want to know." Nico asked, in the same sort of voice Honoka used.

"Huh? Come on girls! What are you asking me?" Maki tried to laugh it off, but the questions buzzed around her, seeking an answer. Behind her, Hanayo had noticed that the three had stopped, two still on the road, but was unable to direct attention to them.

"Hey, Maki-chan. Answer me." The two spoke in unison. The walk light switched from a white person to a flashing red hand, something that went unnoticed by all three of them.

"I…I-" Maki saw what the other two couldn't see. A truck was making a left turn. The driver hadn't noticed the two on the road as he turned, and he still didn't see them. There was no time to think, she acted, driven by her fear and instinct. It happened in a matter of seconds, so fast that no one had the chance to realize what had happened until afterwards. With the truck bearing down on her friends, Maki had leapt from the safety of the sidewalk and thrust the two backwards out of harm's way. They landed on their backs and sat up, about to yell at the red-head for pushing them, just in time to see the truck ram into Maki's still airborne body. At the same time, Hanayo had finally got the others' attention. They too, turned at the exact moment Maki was hit. The truck driver hit the brakes, tires squealing to a stop, as Maki went flying. She hit the ground, bounced once, and was still.

"MAKI-CHAN!" Honoka and Nico screamed, scrambling to their friend's side. Nozomi and Eri ran as well, making it to the red-head's motionless body after the children did. Eri gasped and covered her mouth as the rest of the adult group caught up. Maki didn't look so good. Her right leg was obviously broken, her forehead and cheek s all scraped up, and they knew, though they couldn't see it, that her insides were also damaged. Blood dripped from her mouth, a sure sign that something was wrong inside.

"Hang in there, Maki-chan. Umi-chan has called an ambulance. They're on their way." Nozomi's normally calm voice shook as she gently lifted the injured girl.

"A…are Honoka…chan…and Nico…chan…okay?" Maki managed to say, despite the pain it caused her. Nozomi nodded and held her so that she could see the two.

"You can't die, Maki-chan!" Honoka sobbed. She wiped at her face with one hand, the other hand holding desperately to the bottom of Kotori's dress.

"There's still lots we haven't done yet, Maki-chan! I know you'll make it through this, so I'm not going to cry!" Nico shouted. Tears flowed down her face and she buried her face in Rin's pants.

"I'm… so glad…you're safe…" Maki's eyelids slid shut and her breathing slowed.

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**Cliffhanger! Dun dun dun! Okay, I don't know how this whole cliffhanger thing works, this is my first time using a writing tool like that. I do feel bad for putting Maki in a situation like that, but it's for the progression of the story. Sorry, peoples!**

** Keep your eyes peeled for the next chapter. I will probably post it tomorrow, if the exterminators don't take too long. Good-bye for now and, as always, review!**


	7. It's a Happy Ending, Right?

**A/N: This will be last chapter peoples. The characters may be slightly OOC in this (probably were in the other chapters too) but I think it fits the mood for the chapter. I just wrote this, it's 3 AM, and I can't sleep. So here, have the chapter earlier than I planned to have it. Ah, insomia...I think I spelled that wrong. Oh, before I forget, cookies for those who know what song the chapter title is from!**

**Disclaimer: I think we all know that I don't own Love Live.**

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Silence reigned supreme in the small white waiting room. Only the sound of a clock ticking and the nurse at the desk writing notes down disturbed the eerie silence. There were not enough chairs for the eleven of them. Honoka and Nico had opted to stand, feeling that if they sat down, they probably wouldn't have been able to get up. Nozomi and Eri sat together, holding hands, wishing for their 'daughter' to be fine. No one had been allowed in yet, and it had been hours since they had all arrived.

The ambulance was small, only able to fit Nozomi and Eri, and Honoka and Nico because they were still children at the time. Umi, Kotori, Rin, Hanayo, Tsubasa, Erena, and Anju said that they would head back to the house to get food and changes of clothes for Maki before heading to the hospital. On the ride there, Nozomi and Eri had stood next to the stretcher with Maki on it, and Honoka and Nico had sat on the seats. It happened with a flash. Nico suddenly grew in size, her child-form clothing ripping as she became too big for them. Moments after Nico, Honoka too, grew back into her older self. Following that trend, Maki, still unconscious, returned to her adult self. All three had no clothing on them and the paramedics had to give Honoka and Nico each a sheet to pull around themselves and one for them to put over Maki.

At first, when the red-head started to grow up, there had been hope that her injuries that were so serious on her child body would lessen in severity. The hope faded quickly, as one glance at the injured young woman revealed that there had been more they had failed to notice, hidden by her clothing. Something had sliced a deep cut on her stomach, just above the navel. Blood seeped from it, having gone unnoticed earlier because her clothes were all dirty and scratched. Her other injuries remained the same, as severe to the adult woman as they were to the child. The sheet on top of her body became stained red. The paramedics could slow the blood flow, but they couldn't stop it. The belly wound would need stitching at the hospital.

Eri had called Umi, requesting that they bring adult changes of clothing for the three. Umi didn't need to hear more than that. She relayed the information to the rest of the group at the house. They split up, grabbing whatever they needed and being ready to go within ten minutes. They all piled into Eri's minivan, with Umi driving. She drove quickly, wanting to get rid of the worry that had settled into everybody's heart.

Silence. The doctor came out of Maki's designated hospital room and was immediately swarmed by worried young women.

"I've set her leg, and stitched up that nasty cut on her stomach. She should be fine to go in a couple days, but…that might be longer because she hasn't woken up." The doctor said in an apologetic tone.

"I…see…" Nozomi whispered. She was shivering, and Eri put an arm around her.

"No more than two visitors at a time, though. It wouldn't do her any good if there's too many people in there at once." The doctor headed off to his next patient, leaving the idols to decide what to do.

"You can count us out of visiting her." Tsubasa said. "It's only right that Muse visit Maki-san. We're outsiders to your family."

"As weird as this sounds, Tsubasa is right." Anju said. Muse nodded in appreciation and set about discussing who should go in when.

"I say Nozomi-chan and Eri-chan should go in first and reassure themselves that she's fine." Hanayo said.

"I agree with that. Maki's practically become their daughter over the past day." Umi said.

"What about Honoka-chan and Nico-chi though?" Nozomi asked. "They've become close too." The six Muse turned to their unusually silent companions.

"You girls go first." Honoka didn't look up to meet any of their gazes.

"We'll go last, after everyone else." Nico seemed distant, lost in a world that only she could see.

"Okay then. Me and Nozomi will go first, then Umi and Kotori, then Rin and Hanayo. Honoka and Nico will go last." Eri said. She and Nozomi headed into the hospital room, leaving the others to stare at Honoka and Nico. They seemed unaware of the gazes, or rather, looked like they were no longer with purpose.

"It's not your fault." Eri said gently as she led a crying Nozomi out of the room.

"It is though! I should have been watching them! The entire time, I'd been watching them! Why did this have to happen the one time I didn't watch them?!" The spiritual girl was in hysterics. Eri sat down and pulled Nozomi onto her lap, hugging and steadying her until the purple-haired woman calmed down a bit. In the meantime, Umi and Kotori made their way in to see their friend. They didn't spend as long as Nozomi and Eri, though they were both a bit pale as they came out. Hanayo and Rin went in next. Like Nozomi, Hanayo had to be led back out by Rin. She blamed herself for not preventing the accident, because she had seen them on the street but was unable to get the attention of the other adults. Amidst all this hysterics, crying, and blaming that was going on, Honoka and Nico slipped silently into the hospital room. With the door shut, they could no longer hear the outside commotion. It was silent in the hospital room too, with one bed and two chairs. The bed being occupied, Honoka and Nico settled into the chairs. There was no sound, except for that of the machine that was monitoring Maki's heartbeat and that of their own breathing. They glanced at each other and Honoka motioned for Nico to speak first.

"Maki-chan, I don't know if you can hear me or not, but I wanted to tell you that I think I was the reason we turned into kids. You see, I wished on a shooting star that night. I was originally going to wish for you to fall in love with me, but I realized that would be selfish. So, instead, I wished to know who was it you loved. I figured that if I knew, I could get on with it, even if it wasn't me. I still don't know who you love, because me, you, and Honoka were turned into children, so it could be either of us, huh? I know you'll pull through this, Maki-chan. You're strong, you've always been strong. That's what I loved about you. You're ability to work so hard despite everything, how you managed to end your musical career before it even started just to follow what your parents wanted. I know I couldn't have done that. But we met through music… This is so awkward but…Maki-chan, I love you. I will always love you, even if I can't have you." Nico took Maki's right hand in her own and squeezed it. "Your turn, Honoka."

"I just wanted to say…thank you, Maki-chan. You saved us, both of us, at the risk of your own life. It's funny, now that I think about it. Just the night before, Umi-chan told me that someday, I would find someone I could love, someone that would risk their life for me. And then it happened. You risked your life for me, for both of us. I guess I was part of the reason we turned into children too. I also wished on a star that night, maybe Nico-chan and I wished on the same one? I wished that Maki-chan would be able to have fun with the ones she loved, whoever they might be. I didn't like seeing you work all the time. I wanted you to enjoy life a little, instead of working your butt off every chance you got. But you got irritated at me when I tried to get you to play. It's understandable, I mean, I was interrupting you. But I really enjoyed the one day of play we had together. I wanted it to continue forever and ever. There's that saying though. 'All good things must come to an end.' I guess this is the end for us playing as children, but it could also be a beginning of a new future, one that wouldn't have taken place if this had never happened. I think…I'm in love with you, Maki-chan. You're beautiful, you have a wonderful voice, and you're an essential part of Muse. Without your music, Muse would never have gotten started. It's been so long since then. Please wake up, Maki-chan. You never let anything get you down before, not even that fever that knocked you out halfway through practice. So don't let this get you down. I'm here for you. Nico-chan's here for you. Everyone's here for you and we're waiting. Waiting for you." Honoka took Maki's left hand. Tears ran down her face for the second time that day, and, glancing at Nico, she found she wasn't alone. Honoka reached for Nico and the black haired woman understood and gave Honoka her hand. The three were now linked by their hands.

Honoka and Nico waited, silently, just watching Maki. Minutes passed and the red-head showed no sign of stirring. Reluctantly, they stood and were just about to leave Maki's grip when they felt it. A squeeze. As one, they turned to her, the one they both loved. Blue and red met violet. Maki was awake, smiling gently at them.

"MAKI-CHAN!" They shouted, crying out of relief and happiness. They jumped her, hugging her, reassuring themselves that she was awake and warm and not dead.

"Okay, okay. I appreciate the sentiment, but seriously, I'm hurting right now, girls." Maki said. Honoka and Nico got off, smiling sheepishly.

"By the way, how much did you hear?" Nico wondered.

"All of it. Actually, I heard everyone. I just couldn't wake myself up until you two came." Maki said. She stared at them, then asked, "Can you tell Hanayo and Nozomi to come in? They deserve to know I'm going to be fine." With giant grins, Honoka and Nico raced to the door and pulled it open. Sticking their heads out, they hollered for Hanayo and Nozomi to get in the room. Both were still crying as they walked in, wondering what it was that had lifted Honoka's and Nico's spirits so much.

"Hi." Was all Maki could say before they too were on her. Nozomi wrapped her in a bone-crushing hug and sobbed, apologizing for not protecting her. Likewise, Hanayo did the same, only on the other side.

"Okay, seriously? What is with you people and hugging me? It freaking hurts." Maki said, but she smiled to let them know it was perfectly fine.

A month later found them back in their own home. While Maki still couldn't use her leg, it would take another five months to completely heal, they were all pretty much back to normal. Muse was closer as a family now, the 'adults' becoming more parent-like to their 'children'. Nozomi and Eri did not fully approve of Maki's relationship with Honoka and Nico (more like 75% yay I'm happy for you and 25% those two are a bad influence), and despite the only difference in age was two years, Maki pretty much understood why they would think those two were a bad influence. She had started slacking off on her work more, though not as much as the other two, but always managed to finish what she needed to do either the day before or on the day it was required. Umi and Kotori had even less say on what Honoka could do on her life as all three were the same age. Honoka respected them, slightly, and was going slowly on her part of the relationship. Hanayo and Rin had almost no say on what Nico did as the black haired woman was two years older than them. Nico did what she wanted, only listening to Maki on occasion. The strange incident that took place over two days had brought them all closer together.

Eri managed to postpone the Europe Tour for another year, to give Maki time to rest up. They finally got rid of the press, telling them that Maki had broken her leg and that was why she couldn't perform. Even though some of them suspected that it wasn't the case, as news had been released that Maki had gotten a broken leg the day after Eri canceled the Europe Tour the first time, no one bothered pursuing it. As for the truck driver, he had to pay for Maki's hospital fee and a ticket for not watching where he was going.

The three of them were spending more and more time together, sometimes running off before everyone else had woken up and not coming back until dinnertime just to irritate the other members. They would do anything from playing at the arcade to walking on the beach to simply sitting in a park. That's where they were now, sitting under a giant tree, watching the sunset. Honoka and Nico both linked hands with Maki.

"Hey Maki-chan, you never answered. Who do you like better, Pikachu or Kirby?"

"I like both of them. And if anything ever happened to them, Link would go and save them, no matter how dangerous or life-threatening."

"Same here."

"Same here. Though I'd rather you not risk your life for me again."

"Yeah, that's true too." They laughed, happy to be together.

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**And that's it! With this, Love Past becomes my longest fanfic (in terms of both words and chapters) with the most reviews and is the only chaptered fanfic that I have ever finished! So yeah, thank you all for supporting me and this fanfic. I really enjoyed writing it even if it got a little extreme toward the end. If you want more Love Live stuff from me, I have a new story out that I posted earlier (that would be yesterday now that it's almost 4 AM) called Favors. Go and check it out if you want. GOOD-BYE FOR NOW PEOPLES! **


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